In This Issue

Happy Valentine's Day! There's no better time than this day focused on love to make sure you know your HIV status. Go here to find out where you can get tested near you.

In this issue we continue to feature our 2016 African American HIV University graduates, this week spotlighting valedictorian Aaron Davis, who re-launched Maryland's BTAN chapter and is taking on Baltimore's epidemic.

In Washington, D.C., HIV/AIDS advocates and public-health officials are engaged in a new effort to increase Black women's awareness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through the #PrEPforHer campaign.

With all the confusion surrounding the GOP's threat to "replace and repeal" the Affordable Care Act, many people who didn't purchase insurance are confused about whether they must pay their fine come tax time. Our friends at Kaiser Health answer several questions about Obamacare.

Black people continue to be diagnosed with HIV late in their illness, when the virus has progressed to AIDS—particularly Down South. This means that life-saving treatment often comes too late for Black PLWHA to experience the drugs' full benefits, which include longer lives, better health, and a greatly reduced risk of passing the virus along to others. The good news is rates of new HIV diagnoses among Black people are down overall, particularly among Black women, though sharp racial disparities remain. Read the latest CDC report.

Finally, some research suggests that being on ARVs may increase Black gay men's susceptibility to the bacterium that causes syphilis. Read on.

Yours in the struggle,

Phill